Exploring Word Problems with the Associative Property

1. Sarah has 3 apples and her friend gives her 2 more. Then, she buys 4 more apples. How many apples does Sarah have in total? (Use the associative property to group the numbers.)

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2. If you have 5 red balloons and 3 blue balloons, and then you get 2 more blue balloons, how many balloons do you have altogether? (Explain how you used the associative property.)

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3. A baker made 6 chocolate cakes and 4 vanilla cakes. Later, he made 3 more chocolate cakes. How many cakes does he have now? (Use the associative property to find the total.)

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4. Emma has 7 stickers. She gives 2 to her friend and then finds 5 more. How many stickers does she have now? (Explain your reasoning using the associative property.)

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5. There are 4 dogs and 3 cats at the park. If 2 more dogs arrive, how many pets are there in total? (Use the associative property to solve.)

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6. Tom has 8 toy cars. He gives 3 to his brother and then buys 2 more. How many toy cars does Tom have now? (Explain how you applied the associative property.)

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7. A farmer has 5 cows and 6 sheep. If he buys 4 more cows, how many animals does he have in total? (Use the associative property to find the answer.)

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8. Lily has 9 crayons. She loses 3 and then finds 5 more. How many crayons does she have now? (Explain your answer using the associative property.)

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9. There are 10 students in a class. If 4 more students join, how many students are there now? (Use the associative property to calculate.)

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10. A toy store has 12 dolls and 5 action figures. If they receive 3 more dolls, how many toys do they have in total? (Explain how you used the associative property.)

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